Durham Constabulary
has asked for an extra £1.5m on top of its normal budget to handle the
massive investigation into abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.
The
force applied to the Home Office in 2015/16 for a special grant to help
handle the costs of Operation Seabrook which is now the biggest child
abuse inquiry in the UK.
A staggering 1,350 men have reported being physically or sexually assaulted at the County Durham detention centre during the 1970s and 1980s.
The
Home Office and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have
yet to come to a decision on whether or not to agree with the amount
suggested by Durham Constabulary in their bid.
Similar
child sexual abuse investigation like Operation Hydrant, in Norfolk, and
Operation Pallial, in North Wales, have been awarded special grant and
have been granted at least half of the amount they requested.
Last
year South Yorkshire Police requested £17m in extra funding for
Operation Stovewood, the National Crime Agency-led investigation into
child sexual exploitation in Rotherham and were granted £1.6m was agreed
for 2015/16 and up to £5.9m for 2016/17.
The news comes
as Ben Emmerson QC, the most senior lawyer working on an independent
inquiry into historic child sexual abuse in England and Wales resigned.
Dave Higgens/PA Wire
Professor Alexis Jay
In his resignation letter, Mr Emmerson
said he was no longer the “right person” for the role, but denied he had
stepped down due to a difference of opinion with chair Professor Alexis
Jay.
The inquiry was set up in 2014 to examine whether
public bodies including the police have failed in their duty to protect
children from sexual abuse. It will also examine claims of abuse
involving “well-known people”.
Prof Jay is the fourth person appointed to lead the investigation.
She
was appointed after its third chairwoman, New Zealand judge Justice
Lowell Goddard, resigned in August this year, citing the “magnitude” of
the inquiry and the “legacy of failure” from its beginnings.
An attempt to start the inquiry in 2014 was abandoned after two proposed chairwomen resigned.
The
scale and complexity of the investigation meant the force bought in a
team of experienced retired detectives to work on the case.
So far 31 suspects have been identified and interviewed and the CPS is currently reviewing prosecution files.
Last year detectives trawled the archives of the Chronicle to look for clues in any articles written about the detention centre.
Det Supt Paul Goundry
Det Supt Paul Goundry, who has led the two-year
investigation, told ChronicleLive at the time how the victims’ accounts
of horrific abuse have left even the most hardened long-serving
detectives sickened.
He said: “This investigation is
probably one of the most challenging the country has faced, not just due
to the number of victims but also because Medomsley closed in 1986,
which means we are talking about events that occurred between 30 and 50
years ago.
“The investigation team is made up of very
experienced detectives who have built up close bonds with many of the
victims. Some hardened detectives have been quite traumatised by the
accounts of the victims.”
Overall, across England and
Wales, police forces applied for £64m in special grants from the Home
Office in the last two years - just over half (£32.7m) of the amounts
requested by forces were awarded.
